Breaking News
You know what happened in Maine this week, so I won’t re-hash the story that will be old news by the time you read this. However, here’s a tidbit you may not see elsewhere.
The evil Left’s dancing in the blood started immediately on Wednesday after the massacre.
Litigation
High profile gun guy and decorated former military operator Larry Vickers of Vickers Tactical has pleaded guilty to multiple felony gun charges in a scheme with police chiefs to illegally supply machine guns. Apparently ATF doesn’t appreciate illegal gun running competition.
In the case Miller v. Bonta, Senior U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez again struck down California’s unconstitutional 1989 ban on so-called “assault weapons.” Benitez previously struck down the law in a 2021 decision. Washington State has a similar ban. Benitez stayed the ruling because an appeal will follow to the Ninth Circus in San Francisco, which will slow-walk the case before overturning Benitez’s ruling and teeing it up for a SCOTUS slap down.
From the decision (pdf link), which is a work of art:
“There is only one policy enshrined in the Bill of Rights. Guns and ammunition in the hands of criminals, tyrants and terrorists are dangerous; guns in the hands of law-abiding responsible citizens are necessary. To give full life to the core right of self-defense, every law-abiding responsible individual citizen has a constitutionally protected right to keep and bear firearms commonly owned and kept for lawful purposes.”
(We note that “common” use or possession is not a constitutional condition.)
The icing on the cake is Benitez’s scorching rebuke to “Firearms Expert” Ryan Busse, a former gun company executive turned senior advisor for the Giffords gun ban group and candidate for Montana’s next Governor.
More about the Ninth Circus.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan in Manhattan struck down recent provisions (pdf link) in New York City’s gun restrictions as unconstitutional – violating the Second and Fourteenth Amendments – because under the city code, officials have been allowed to deny gun permits to people they deemed “not of good moral character,” or where “good cause exists for the denial” of gun permits. The restrictions that Cronan found to be unconstitutional were enacted as a defiant in-your-face response to the SCOTUS Bruen decision against strikingly similar previous NY laws and reportedly have since been amended again. Judge Cronan said he was not yet ruling on the wording of the newest provisions. The case is Srour v. NYC.
U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan of North Carolina ruled this week that banning unlawful users of controlled substances from possessing firearms violates the Second Amendment, but banning possession for those facing felony indictments is not unconstitutional. The case is U.S. v. Alston. I suggest that “felony” is far too broad, considering some of what passes for felonies these days.
Six lawsuits against New Mexico’s gubernatorial gun ban have been consolidated and have appealed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the decision on the preliminary injunction.
Action Item
Please add your name to GOA’s prewritten letter urging your Representative and two Senators to keep the pro-gun language protecting veterans in H.R. 4366.
Legislation & Regulation
- About new U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson
- Over There – The UK is considering rolling back its onerous rules victimizing armed police officers involved in self defense altercations, after a contingent of UK officers disarmed themselves in protest of the murder charge against a London officer who fatally shot a suspect last year.
- Guess What Happened to Violent Crime Rates After Ohio Adopted Permitless Carry.
NRA
Enemies
Terrorist Warning
Federal officials are warning that members of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hezbollah terrorist organizations could be crossing through the U.S. southern border, according to an internal Oct. 20 memo from the San Diego Field Office Intelligence Division of Customs and Border Protection.
DGUs
- The Armed Citizen
- A homeowner in Auburn, Washington, opened fire at a group of would-be intruders who had identified themselves as police officers.
- A California man tried to rob a gun store with a hammer. Guess what happened. FWIW, a hammer is a deadly weapon.
- DGUs aren’t always enough. Be tactical.
The Only Ones
- New regulations that require state-conducted background checks for gun and ammunition buyers in New York state kept Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone from buying shotgun shells. Welcome to the party, pal.
- An upstate New York judge who pulled a gun on a defendant in open court eight years ago has been removed from office (pdf link), partly because of that incident. The wheels turn slowly.
Tactics & Stuff
- Empty Chamber Carry – II. The problems keep growing.
- Empty Chamber Carry – I (from last week).
- Stuff you need.
- Treating Penetrating Chest Injuries.
- Stupid Places, Stupid People, Stupid Things.
- Searching your home for bad guys (Don’t).
- Spaulding’s Rules of Conflict.
- What Should You Do if You’re Threatened by a Mass Murderer? In case you still have some extra reading time after you’ve read the Miller v. Bonta decision at the top.
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You can take the Mississippi Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan Survey here. I told ’em we need more public dove fields.
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Factoid
Colt sent a pilot model rifle (serial no. GX4968) to the BATF for civilian sale approval on Oct. 23, 1963. It was approved on Dec. 10, 1963, and sales of the “Model R6000 Colt AR-15 SP1 Sporter Rifle” began on Jan 2, 1964. The M16 wasn’t issued to infantry units until 1965 (as the XM16E1), wasn’t standardized as the M16A1 until 1967, and didn’t officially replace the M14 until 1969.
So the military M16 is a variant of a civilian weapon, not the the other way around.
Industry News
Last week we reported that the Army’s Lake City Ammunition Plant, run by Olin/Winchester, canceled its commercial (civilian) ammunition contracts. This week we have a conflicting report that the cancellation report is false. We have seen false rumors of this cancellation in the past. I don’t know which is true at this time but will pass on info as we get it.
The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs and Border Protection has selected the Federal Premium Law Enforcement Tactical Bonded 62-grain soft point for their 5.56/.223 Rem. rifle ammunition. The contract is for up to 143 million rounds over 5 years. With over 60,000 total employees CBP is one of the world’s largest law enforcement agencies, but I don’t know where they plan to find 143 million criminals to shoot at.
Recalls
- Fortress Biometric Safes (+Cabela’s)
- Taurus GX4 pistols – Some GX4 pistols assembled and sold only in the United States may, under certain circumstances, discharge when dropped.
Products
- This one’s on my Christmas list.
- The two best concealed carry pistols for women, according to women, according to this guy. If you’re a man, butt out. If you’re a woman, choose wisely.
- Streamlight’s new Protac Rail Mount HL-X Pro
- Bereli has the Nightstick TWM-30 Tactical Mounted 1200 Lumens Light on closeout for only $50.00 with FREE shipping. Compatible with Streamlight TLR1 Holsters.
- Telescoping shotgun magazine extension. Interesting.
- Hornady’s new ELD-VT bullet offers high accuracy and rapid fragmentation by using a long, sleek match bullet profile with a short core that maximizes muzzle velocity and moves the center of gravity rearward to enhance aerodynamic performance. Upon impact, the polymer tip drives rearward through the air gap and into the bullet core, causing rapid and dramatic fragmentation, even at low velocity. .22, 6mm, 6.5mm & .30 calibers.
- Hornady also has a new line of modular, assemble-it-yourself gun safes. No assembled weights given. They’re also pricey.